Hey gang,

Been a while! Glad to see the forum is thriving. Hopefully someone can shed a little insight on an issue I'm having with my 03 STR. 52,000 miles.

I'm getting a raw/unburned fuel smell in the cabin on cold starts, seems worse on warm days. After a minute or two it dissipates for the most part, sometimes still catch a whiff. Nothing is leaking anywhere that I can locate. STR was in the garage all winter and no drips or leaks.

I had the local dealer take a stab at it in the fall, I was getting an occasional limp home mode trouble code P1254 on occasion as well at the time. Dealer indicated it was likely the throttle body on the way out, but would need a complete engine teardown to confirm. They suggested to R&R TB first. I instead obtained a (brand new) OEM Jag TB from a supplier, still in the packaging with all OEM numbers and a new gasket. Installed it (not fun) and the fuel smell has decreased, but it's still there in the slightest. No more trouble codes/limp home though. It was dirty as heck in there.

So I'm looking for any ideas on where to turn next? Definitely coming from the engine bay through the HVAC system and not from under the rear seats. Not a drop/drip anywhere to be found on the motor. Confused...

Also when I installed the new TB, the car seems to idle just a smidge high. Not seriously high or anything, but it just feels a little higher than with the old TB and if I let my foot off the brake at a light, the car creeps forward by itself a little too much for my liking. I didn't see any external adjustments on the TB itself, I'm wondering if the ECU just has to learn that there's a new, clean TB in there and will square itself away after a bit, or if I can do any tweaking? I probably only have 150 miles on it with the new TB.

Any advice or comments are welcome. I searched the forum but didn't find my specific issue for the STR, although it appears XKR's may have had an evap canister issue that I may explore.

Cheers mates!
Chris

 

I'm struggling to see how a fuel smell can be TB related.

The car is a sort of vacuum pump so fuel if near the TB (it isn't, really) is sucked away from it.

Far more likely is something that actually has fuel, such as fuel rail, injectors etc.

P1254 may well be a false code, either a low battery or the TSB JTB00188 which requires the PCM be reprogrammed.

Having changed the TB be sure to check your fuel trims as any leak will give you different grief in due course.

 

+1 on checking fuel trims. Also, check for leaking injector seals on the fuel rail as it appears your condition is apparent following a cold-soak.

 

Good to see you're still around. I figured you were long gone like so many other former S-Type owners that were on this forum five or six years ago....

Keep us posted on what you find. And drive your STR more. You know these cars hold up better when they are driven regularly....

 

Hey Chris as mentioned above, good to have you back, Hey I am with JagV8, I cannot see how the TB would have anything to do with a fuel smell.

 

Good points and feedback from everyone, thanks! I knew you guys would give me some direction. My post was a little poorly organized, reviewed the invoice and TB R&R seems more for the limp home/P1254 than fuel smell. I concur, didnt make sense to me either that the TB would be a factor in the smell. I will give the injectors a closer inspection once i have use of both arms (shoulder surgery last week). As long as the limp home and code stay away then the TB R&R sits fine w/me...will double check the gasket and hook up the OBDII to get the fuel trims and post em up for review.

And I agree Jon, I do need to drive the car more...i work at home and park it from Nov to April to protect it from the heinous PA winter roads. Add that to a blown shoulder = not much driving in the last year or so. I tried to suggest to my girlfriend that she move further away so i could put more miles on it...she didnt seem to appreciate the logic! What the heck!! LOL!!